Boat-rental marketplace Zizoo hauls in €1.7M with an eye towards expansion in the American market

Austrian boat-rental startup Zizoo, which we profiled here, may have only launched in 2014, but the startup has enjoyed explosive growth and is looking to continue that trend with an influx of 1.7 million Euro in a venture round that includes participation by new and current investors. Participants in this round include Mairdumont Ventures, aws Founder Fund, Russmedia, Axel Springer Digital Ventures, and current investor Axel Springer Plug and Play accelerator, as well as “a mix of European and U.S. super-angel investors active in the travel industry”. With this latest deal, the startup now claims 2.5 million Euro in external backing.

Zizoo reports that they intend to put this funding towards continuing to scale-up and focus on their core markets (particularly looking towards expansion in the American market), as well as acquire new talent. In terms of hiring talent, they state that they are particularly interested in candidates who have a digital background, having already brought in specialists who have worked at Microsoft, Booking.com, and Lieferando.de, among other places.

In addition to the funding news, we have learned that the company increased its bookings by an average of 35% each month. They currently work with 8,000 boats from 25 countries, but report that most of their users come from Germany, Austria, Australia, and the United States.